Comparing the upper mesospheric temperature trend and the response to solar activity derived from the daily mean and nocturnal Na lidar observations

Previous studies using the lidar observations derived the temperature trends and solar responses solely from the traditional nocturnal measurements. While these archived results are more or less in agreement with modeling studies, one of the main uncertainties in these studies is the potential biases induced by the trends of the diurnal tide forced in the lower atmosphere, and that of the in situ exothermal reactions involving the photolysis.

In the MLT, the diurnal tide has significant seasonal variations, considerable amplitude and is one of the dominant dynamic sources. However, its potential effects in the trend studies have rarely been discussed. In this paper, we present and compare the long-term temperature trends in the upper mesosphere utilizing the daily mean and nightly mean temperature profiles measured by a Sodium (Na) Doppler lidar at midlatitude.